Naruto: I Became Orochimaru's Apprentice

The stadium pulsed with tension. After Naruto's breathtaking display, every eye was glued to the arena as the large screen flickered—and then, unexpectedly, the names appeared: Sasuke Uchiha vs. Teriyaki.

A heavy hush fell over the crowd. Sasuke's eyes narrowed in cold surprise, while Teriyaki's heart pounded against his chest. He hadn't expected this sudden confrontation—especially not against the formidable Uchiha prodigy.

"Orochimaru must have done something..." Teriyaki thought.

High above in the Kage box, the Third Hokage's frown deepened as he exchanged uneasy glances with the Kazekage. Hidden among the officials, Orochimaru's eyes glittered with secret intent. With a subtle, almost imperceptible shift of his hand beneath his robe, he sent a pulse of cursed energy directly into Teriyaki's curse mark.

A low groan escaped Teriyaki's lips as he felt a searing change within him—a dark power awakening.

"The rules are clear," boomed Genma Shiranui, his voice resonating off the ancient stone walls. "Fight on—no holds barred."

Teriyaki and Sasuke faced each other at the center of the arena, the charged atmosphere making every heartbeat thunder. The majority of the crowd expected an easy victory for Sasuke.

"Start!"

In an instant, Sasuke burst forward, his Sharingan spinning as if in a blur. Lightning-quick, he aimed a vicious kick straight for Teriyaki's midsection. Teriyaki barely managed to parry the blow, his arms moving with desperate precision. He countered with a swift punch—but Sasuke's speed rendered it nearly futile.

The exchange was a furious ballet of taijutsu and rapid-fire jutsus. Sasuke landed a precise strike on Teriyaki's side, sending a searing jolt of pain through his body. Yet, Teriyaki gritted his teeth; every strike that grazed him was less effective, his body moving almost unnaturally as if lubricated by a dark force.

"Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!" Teriyaki roared, his voice echoing in the charged air.A spiraling sphere of water surged toward Sasuke, but the Uchiha nimbly sidestepped, the attack slicing past him with barely a touch.

Sasuke smirked, his Sharingan never missing a beat. "You'll have to do better than that."

Undeterred, Sasuke charged again—a relentless storm of kicks and a flash of Chidori energy crackling at his fingertips. At that moment, Teriyaki felt the cursed mark on his neck blaze like wildfire. Orochimaru's influence surged through him—a dark, seething power he had only begun to master.

In one fluid motion, Teriyaki dodged the incoming Chidori, his body flickering away with uncanny speed. Sasuke, caught off balance, tumbled and skidded across the arena floor. Both fighters paused, eyes locking in mutual challenge.

Teriyaki's vision blurred with shifting, dark patterns as his curse mark flared to life. Swirling markings spread across his skin like living shadows, infusing him with erratic, almost inhuman speed. His mind clouded yet emboldened by raw power, he closed the distance, landing a heavy blow that sent the Uchiha staggering.

"Not bad," Sasuke muttered as he recovered, activating his Sharingan to track Teriyaki's now unpredictable movements. "That was faster."

"Wild Water Wave!" Teriyaki bellowed, and a torrent of water erupted, crashing across the arena. Sasuke leapt over the roaring wave, intent on closing in for another assault.

In response, Teriyaki plunged into a rapid series of hand seals—a dance of fingers and chakra as he summoned his newest signature technique.

"Water Maw Jutsu!"

The very ground trembled as the ambient water coalesced into a monstrous, swirling maw of liquid. The vortex roared to life, twisting toward Sasuke with a predatory hunger, its churning depths threatening to engulf him.

For a heartbeat, it seemed Sasuke might rely on his legendary speed to evade the onslaught. But then, a strange, invasive pulse—an unwelcome surge of cursed energy—rippled through his body.

"HUH?" Sasuke's eyes widened, his focus splintering as his finely tuned chakra began to waver.

Unbeknownst to him, Orochimaru's meddling had penetrated deeper than anyone could suspect. A silent incantation, carried on a current of cursed energy, slithered from Orochimaru's hidden perch straight into Sasuke's mind through the dark conduit of Teriyaki's curse mark.

Sasuke's eyes bulged with alarm as his carefully honed chakra faltered. In that critical heartbeat, as he struggled to unleash another Chidori, his body hesitated—control slipping from his grasp.

Teriyaki seized the opening. The dark power surged within him, intensifying his Water Maw Jutsu into an even more devastating force. The colossal vortex lunged forward, its turbulent, cursed water coiling around Sasuke like a living serpent, suffocating his every move.

Desperation set in as Sasuke fought back—flaring his lightning jutsus, launching rapid counterattacks with raw taijutsu. Yet every desperate blow was absorbed by the relentless torrent. He couldn't escape the water maw jutsu. The arena filled with the cacophony of crashing water, sizzling electrical discharges, and the gasps of an audience torn between awe and disbelief.

With his chakra nearly spent and his concentration shattered by Orochimaru's insidious intervention, Sasuke staggered beneath the unyielding barrage. Teriyaki advanced relentlessly, his curse mark blazing with every heartbeat. In a final, desperate bid, Sasuke gathered the remnants of his strength for one fierce Chidori thrust. Now the water maw jutsu was over, he could potentially still win.

But just as his arm shot forward, a sharp jolt of cursed energy—sent by Orochimaru—overwhelmed him. Sasuke's arm froze mid-swing; his Sharingan flickered erratically as the dark power from Teriyaki surged forward.

In one fluid, decisive movement, Teriyaki activated his body flicker technique. He appeared mere inches from Sasuke, a gleaming kunai in hand. Sasuke sidestepped the kunai strike.

But Teriyaki wasn't done. Realizing Sasuke was almost paralyzed he went for a risky play.

In a heartbeat, he struck—his final attack a vicious, rising Water Slicer that cut deep into Sasuke's chest, sending him crashing to the arena floor. The roar of the churning water mingled with the crowd's gasps as Sasuke lay motionless.

Teriyaki paused, his heart hammering in his ears. "He hasn't dodged anything…" he murmured in disbelief, the realization dawning on him. Orochimaru's meddling had tilted the scales.

"Orochimaru really wanted me to win…" he whispered, a conflicted mix of triumph and sorrow in his voice.

Genma Shiranui stepped forward, his voice trembling as he announced, "Winner: Teriyaki!"

For a long, stunned moment, silence reigned over the arena before it erupted into thunderous cheers and shocked whispers. Teriyaki, battered and gasping for breath, gazed upward as the dark energy ebbed from his body. His eyes glowed with both triumph and lingering uncertainty—a victory won, yet tainted by the knowledge that fate had been manipulated.

High above, shrouded in the shadows of the stands, Orochimaru's face twisted into a mask of satisfaction and seething anger. "I didn't think I'd have to intervene so much…" he hissed softly, his tone both approving and ominous.

Medics rushed onto the field as Sasuke's form stirred slightly, and the crowd buzzed with questions and astonishment. Teriyaki soaked in the moment—the cheers of the stands fueling his smile—but deep within, he knew the bitter truth: the victory had been rigged from the start.